Fort Harrison, later renamed Fort Burnham, was an important component of the

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

defenses of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Named after Lieutenant William Harrison, a Confederate engineer,Hannings, p. 566 it was the largest in the series of

fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

s that extended from New Market Road to the

James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

that also included Forts Brady, Hoke, Johnson, Gregg, and Gilmer. These earthworks were designed to protect the strategically important

Chaffin's Bluff Chaffin's Bluff is located in Henrico County, Virginia, United States, on the north side of the James River, opposite Drewry's Bluff, long-considered a major defense point of the river below Richmond. Located at a major bend in the river about e ...

on the James. On September 29, 1864, 2,500 Union soldiers from Major General

Benjamin Butler Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) was an American major general (United States), major general of the Union Army, politician, lawyer, and businessman from Massachusetts. Born in New Hampshire and raised in Lowell, ...

Army of the James The Army of the James was a Union Army that was composed of units from the Department of Virginia and North Carolina and served along the James River during the final operations of the American Civil War in Virginia. History The Union Department ...

overran Major Richard Cornelius Taylor's 200-man Confederate garrison and captured the fort in the

Battle of Chaffin's Farm A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. Brigadier General Hiram Burnham, a native of

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

and a brigade commander in XVIII Corps, was killed in the assault, and the Union-held fort was renamed Fort Burnham in his honor. Although the attacks of September 29 had succeeded in capturing only Fort Harrison, General

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

saw the potential threat to Richmond and ordered a counterattack on September 30. The attack failed, but Brigadier General George J. Stannard lost an arm while resisting Lee's assault. This failure forced the Confederates to realign their defenses farther west. Fort Burnham remained in Union hands until the end of the war. In 1930, members of the Richmond Parks Corporation, a local preservation society, constructed a log cabin on the site to serve as their headquarters. Today, this building serves as the Fort Harrison visitor center, part of

Richmond National Battlefield Park The Richmond National Battlefield Park commemorates 13 American Civil War sites around Richmond, Virginia, which served as the capital of the Confederate States of America for most of the war. The park connects certain features within the city wi ...

. On September 22, 2014, park staff at Richmond National Battlefield Park discovered an artillery shell within the moat of a Confederate fortification known as Fort Gilmer in the park's Fort Harrison battlefield unit. Although it did not explode, the shell was a twelve pound explosive round, possibly used by Confederates at Fort Gilmer as one of several improvised

hand grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...

s rolled down the side of the fort against Union soldiers from the 7th

United States Colored Troops United States Colored Troops (USCT) were Union Army regiments during the American Civil War that primarily comprised African Americans, with soldiers from other ethnic groups also serving in USCT units. Established in response to a demand fo ...

Gallery

File:Fort Burnham (previously Confederate Fort Harrison) LCCN2012648033.jpg, General view File:Fort Burnham, Va. Encampment and earthworks LOC cwpb.01825.jpg, Encampment and eathworks File:Chapin's Bluff, Virginia (vicinity). (Fort Burnham) LOC cwpb.01954.jpg, Chapin's Bluff near Fort Burnham File:Chapin's Bluff, Virginia (vicinity). Fort Burnham, formerly, Confederate Fort Harrison, near James River LOC cwpb.01949.jpg, Chapin's Bluff File:Chapin's Bluff, Virginia (vicinity). Fort Burnham, formerly, Confederate Fort Harrison, near James River LOC cwpb.01946.jpg, Chapin's Bluff File:Chapin's Bluff, Virginia (vicinity). Fort Burnham, formerly Confederate Fort Harrison, near James River LOC cwpb.01944.jpg, Chapin's Bluff File:Fort Burnham, Va., vicinity. Camp of the 5th Pennsylvania Cavalry near the battlefield of Oct. 29, 1864 LOC cwpb.01827.jpg, The camp of the 5th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment near the battlefield on October 29, 1864 File:NPS marker for Fort Harrison.jpg, National Park Service marker for Fort Harrison File:Fort Harrison Virginia interior.jpg, Fort Harrison interior in 2009

Citations

Bibliography

* {{authority control Harrison Virginia in the American Civil War Parks in Henrico County, Virginia Richmond National Battlefield Park 1861 establishments in Virginia